Franciscan Missionaries mark 100th Anniversary of the birth of John Paul II with his favourite song

If you’d like a video that really lifts the heart, then click on the link that takes you to “Barge” (My Boat), sung by dozens of people all over the world to honour the first truly international Pope, St. John Paul II. You’ll certainly know the lovely melody — it is sung in many languages throughout the world. “Lord, when you came to the seashore”, is the first line in English. (In Spanish, “Tú has venido a la orilla.”) Franciscan Missionaries from the North Slavic Conference of the Order joined with the Polish/Irish band Carrantuohill (the name of Ireland’s highest mountain) as well as people from as far apart as Papua New Guinea, Italy, Ecuador, and Tanzania. The well-known chorus is very relevant to missionaries and also to the memory of Karol Wojtyła, the great missionary born 100 years ago: “O Lord, in my eyes you were gazing, kindly smiling, my name you were saying. All I treasured, I have left on the sand there; close to you, I will seek other seas.”